Nomination for 2017

LIASA is proud to call for nominations for the Librarian of the Year Award for 2017

The Librarian of the Year is a role model for the Library and Information Services community, a person whose contributions make a lasting impact on the sector and who will be an ambassador for LIASA and librarianship for the upcoming year.

This accolade is granted in recognition of the achievements and accomplishments of inspiring and exceptional public, academic, school and special librarians.

This award should be used for educational and development purpose and should be in line with the sponsors’ guidelines.

Process:

Branch nominations close on 10 September 2017.

The Branches will organise their own adjudication process – taking into account good practice and fairness. Branches will submit details and relevant documentation of the Branch winner to the LIASA National Office by 15 September 2017.

All Branch winners will be announced by the National PRO on 18 September 2017.

National adjudication of the Branch winners as national finalists will take place on 02 October 2017 at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre. The adjudication committee will consist of Sponsor representatives, the LIASA President, the LIASA President-Elect and the LIASA PRO.

The National winner, first runner-up and second runner-up of the LIASA Librarian of the Year Award will be announced at the Gala Dinner on 05 October 2017.

Selection Criteria

All nominees will be evaluated on the following criteria: The nominee should:

Be a current LIASA individual, paid-up member for a minimum of 3 consecutive years

Have a recognised LIS qualification

Currently be engaged in the LIS sector with a minimum of 5 years in the LIS field

Not be older than 50 years of age

Be knowledgeable about the LIS sector and its resources

Demonstrate high levels of professionalism

Have made an impact to the sector

Be passionate, enthusiastic and have good presentation skills

Be willing to act as an ambassador for LIASA and the sponsors.

Eligibility

Previous Branch and National Librarian of the Year Award winners, staff of the sponsoring companies and members of service providers of library related products are NOT eligible for this award. Members of the Representative Council, National Executive Committee and the Branch Executive Committees are eligible for this award.

Nomination

The nomination form must include:

Nomination form to be completed and signed by the nominator and the nominee

A motivation statement of a maximum of 200 words (1.5 spacing, 12 point font) by the nominator indicating the motivation for the nomination

A profile[1] of the nominee not exceeding 500 words (1.5 spacing, 12 point font)

An essay by the nominee, not exceeding 700 words (1.5 spacing, 12 point font) which opines on:

LIASA’s role in the LIS sector and the future role that the nominee believes LIASA should play

The projects/issues that the nominee – the prestigious award winner – would like to see addressed in the LIS sector

What the nominee would do to promote LIASA and Librarianship during their year as Librarian of the Year

A clear, colour digital head and shoulder photo that will be used for promotional purposes.

Additional requirements

All national finalists should be able to attend the interviews and the Annual Conference

It will be required from all national finalists to produce a poster on why they would be a good ambassador for LIASA and Librarianship.

Important things to note for the 3 successful awardees

Award winners will need to engage with sponsors to agree on the use of the award money

Upon agreement with the sponsor and submission of travel/conference/training arrangements with a corresponding budget to the LIASA National Office by the successful individual, the money will be deposited into her/his account

Within six weeks after their return/completion of the trip/conference/training, they will:

Submit a formal report to the LIASA EXCO which will also be shared with the sponsoring entity

The National winner will present a report of how the prize money was applied, the value gained for the sector and the community at the following year’s Annual Conference Gala Dinner

The two runners-up will present reports of how the prize money was applied, the value gained for the sector and the community at the following year’s Annual Conference during a parallel session.

The National winner will undergo training/mentoring to support the ambassador role

The National winner may be requested to attend and present at certain key LIASA events and meetings during the year

Write an article for the LIASA-in-Touch within a year of receiving the award

All three national winners will present a poster at the following year’s Conference to highlight their use of the prize money

Submit articles on topics related to your field of interest for each of the 4 issues of the LIASA-in-Touch for the Librarian of the Year column.